Essay
by
Robert
(313)
from
United Kingdom
- Author's age: 26 years old
Summary
With oil and food price shocks followed swiftly by a global economic slowdown, the well-being of society is at certainly at risk. But, despite the pressures, the situation presents an opportunity to see change for the better. With volatile energy and food prices the incentives are clear to move towards a more efficient and less wasteful society. With action from the bottom up and the top down, we could take huge strides forward in new energy options and food usage. For a secure and prosperous future, we may not have a choice.
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Comments
That's quite an optimistic view! Yes, many better alternative options are available to all but how do we get people to adopt them? How can a society massively organized around fossil fuel get around when, in a couple of years, there won't be supply. Yes, there are alternative sources but (1) they remain relatively small in share and (2) they are based on different technologies (you can't move a diesel car with electricity!).
Efficiency-based environmental measures are not sufficient. In 2008, we overshot the planet's carrying capacity by 30% (Global Footprint Network estimate) and thus we can't be satisfied with punctual improvement of the environmental performance of a certain technology or infrastructure but must focus on reverting current trends and then reducing the overall net values.
18 months estimate to get out of the financial crisis is, in my opinion, considerably underestimated. To this date, the collapse of financial systems proceeds. Attempts to mitigate the problems aren't working. Many analysts now agree that the current situation is far worse than 1929. It seems more realistic (not pessimistic!) to talk in terms of decades.
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